


The Cat's Eye Gem

by HariWrites



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Celtic Mythology & Folklore, F/M, Mild Smut, Vampires, brief descriptions of blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-28 23:17:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17192057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HariWrites/pseuds/HariWrites
Summary: Alone in the wilderness, Adrien meets a mysterious woman. Who is she?





	The Cat's Eye Gem

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EtoilesJaunes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EtoilesJaunes/gifts).



> Merry Christmas!! I couldn't help but notice a cough that sounded suspiciously like *vampires* so I wrote you a thing. I do hope you enjoy <3
> 
> Big hugs to [LdyFcknNoir](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LdyFcknNoir/pseuds/LdyFcknNoir), [Lilafly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilafly/pseuds/Lilafly) and [Draxynnic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Draxynnic/pseuds/Draxynnic) for all the pep talks, proofreading and fey knowledge!

The sun set in the late afternoon that far north so their guide found a clearing for them to set up camp. Adrien waited with the horses while Nino, Kim and Nathaniel set up the tents. He always felt bad about letting them do the work, but that was why his father hired them, after all.

_ Character building _ . That’s what he’d said. Adrien could just have easily done his geological research in the laboratory at the university, but his father insisted he go out and get life experience. As far as Gabriel was concerned, Adrien was best able to experience life in the wilderness of the Scottish Highlands with a professional guide and three paid companions. It was fine, and the area  _ did _ have very interesting geology, but he often felt like the others would have a better time if he wasn’t there.

“Last night under canvas, boys, we’ll be at a lodge tomorrow. You’ll have proper beds and running water.” Fraser said.

“Let me guess,” Kim muttered, loud enough for the man to hear. “You’re still going to sleep with the horses, though.”

The others laughed.

Their guide was an odd sort. Native to the area, he was the picture of a stereotypical Scotsman; broad and stocky, with a bright red beard and wild hair. Deep blue eyes peered suspiciously through wiry eyebrows at Kim.

“Laugh all you like, laddie. I have my reasons for doing that.”

“What reasons?” Adrien asked, genuinely interested.

“Later, son. Right now, let’s get a fire going. I saw some wolf tracks earlier, we want to ward them off, just in case…”

“...In case of what?” Nino asked.

Fraser sighed. “Get the fire going and I’ll tell you.”

As he gathered firewood, Adrien vaguely wondered if it was all a ploy by Fraser to get them to set up camp faster then usual. After all, they’d been out here for three days and all of them were in need of a proper bed and a real shower—they were all flagging. Whatever the reason, he was glad to be winding down for the night.

He and Nino started the fire as Nathaniel and Kim prepared the dinner. Fraser secured the horses by an ancient yew tree. Before long, they were wrapped in blankets, eating stew by the light of the crackling flames.

“Okay, Fraser, it’s time to cough up the details on the weirdness,” Kim said between forkfuls.

The big man sighed and put his spoon back in his bowl. Adrien got the feeling he’d been asked this question (although, surely in a less brusque manner than Kim’s) more times than he could count.

“You boys won’t believe me, but it’s safer to sleep among the horses than in the tents.”

Stew might have come out of Nino’s nose, he was certainly laughing hard enough.

“Dude! What the hell?”

Fraser just nodded sagely. “It’s the iron in their shoes. They’ll protect you from the sìth.”

“The who?” Nina asked.

“This whole area is covered in Sìthean. Fairy hills. At night, in particular, you’re wise to protect yourself from the wee folk.”

Kim and Nathaniel sniggered while Nino continued to choke on his food. Adrien, however, was leaning forwards, entranced by what he heard.

“Wee folk?”

Fraser nodded solemnly. “Be on your guard, laddie.”

Kim snorted and diverted the conversation elsewhere. Adrien was disappointed, he was fascinated by local myth and legend and Fraser seemed like a rich source of interesting stories. He didn’t  _ believe _ in that stuff, per se, but it was fun to hear the tales.

He met Nino, Kim and Nate at university. Fellow geologists, they would talk in passing, occasionally teaming up for group assignments, but they barely went deeper than classmates. Adrien lived at home while most others stayed in halls of residence, he was driven to and from lectures, and his bodyguard was always somewhere nearby. He didn’t get a chance to forge firm friendships with anyone.

This trip was his chance to get to know them. Even though his father was paying them to accompany him, they were using the opportunity to undertake their own research and Adrien hoped they could bond over that at least. So far, he was still the outsider.

“You got a girlfriend, Adrien?” Nino interrupted his thoughts.

“No,” he admitted. “I don’t think my father would approve right now. He’s too concerned with me getting my education and fulfilling my duties to the family business.”

“Family business, that’s a cute way to say ‘global empire’,” Kim chuckled.

Nathaniel, the quietest of the group piped up. “My parents are the same. Not in the same fabulously wealthy way, but they want me to get my degree before I start dating seriously.”

“Do you have your eye on someone?” Kim asked.

“I… might?” Nathaniel blushed beetroot.

“You do!” Nino exclaimed. “Who is she?”

Nate’s eyes darted between each of them. “I- I doubt you know her.”

“Well, I wish my girlfriend was here now,” Nino sighed. “It’s fine being just the guys, but you miss the fairer sex, you know?”

“A couple of girls on the trip wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Kim agreed.

_ I’d settle for a good friend. _ Adrien considered wistfully.

Fraser began unfolding his sleeping bag to warm it by the fire before he settled down to sleep.

“Be careful what you wish for. Here in Scotland, we believe that if you make a wish at night, you have to invoke God’s protection or else you might find your wish comes true in a most dreadful way,” he warned.

The boys laughed uncomfortably and took his cue to get ready for bed. Adrien opted to remain by the fire a little longer to finish his cocoa. He hoped to engage Fraser in further conversation about folklore, but before he could, gentle snores indicated that he was too late.

In the quiet, next to the dying fire, Adrien let out a long, slow breath. He hoped that this trip would have helped his relationships with Nino, Kim and Nathaniel grow stronger, that they could have become real friends, not mere acquaintances. He should be used to it, his whole life had been sheltered and isolated. He just wished…

A movement in the trees caught his eye and moments later, a rustling sound reached him. He heard hooves on the ground and wondered if a deer had wandered nearby. The figure circled the camp from behind their tents to the opening in the undergrowth opposite where Fraser slept with the horses. He turned to face it.

‘It’ was a girl, roughly his age. She stepped forwards apprehensively, as though unsure if she could trust him. He offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile and she returned it.

“I’m Marinette,” the girl spoke, her accent, like Fraser’s, was local. “Who are you?”

“Uh, I’m Adrien,” he held his hand out to her.

When she took it, she felt warm and it transferred to him, spreading up his arm and heating his heart. Raven hair fell in loose waves around her face, framing brilliant blue eyes that gazed at him. Two deep pools, scrutinising him with interest. Her long green dress skimmed her lithe body to the ground, where dried pine needles and leaves stuck to the skirt.

He wanted to invite her to sit with him, but his voice stuck in his throat. She was bewitching. Her alabaster skin seemed to glow in the firelight with an ethereal beauty that took his breath away.

“May I join you, Adrien?” She asked.

His name flowed melodiously from her lips, it was like a lullaby in his ear. The ‘r’ rolled off her tongue, cushioned between soft vowels. He nodded and gestured towards the ground as he sat back down. She sat gracefully, almost floating to the ground beside him.

Finally, he plucked up the courage to speak to her.

“So, um, what are you doing out here so late?”

She smiled. “I live here.”

They had passed a few isolated cottages on the trail today, mostly belonging to the forestry commision so he guessed she lived in one of them.

“Oh, I’m visiting. From France. I’m here to study rocks.”

“But, you’re alone?”

“No, no,” he reassured her. “I have some classmates with me, they’re already asleep. And we have a local guide.”

He pointed to where Fraser’s breath was rising like steam from between the horses. Marinette narrowed her eyes at the sight. She found it weird, too.

“He’s a little strange, but he knows the area well and he looks after us.”

She looked back to him and nodded. “You’re a kind man, Adrien.”

“Am I?”

“Yes. I’m sorry that your companions aren’t as friendly as you hoped. Maybe I can be your friend?”

“How did you know?” Adrien gaped.

She shrugged. “You’re out here alone while your classmates are already asleep. I suspect you’re the odd man out.”

A bitter scoff escaped him. He was usually better at concealing his true feelings.

“Sorry, that was very perceptive. I’ve been lonely for most of my life. I hoped this trip might be a chance to… Well, it hasn’t been, I’m still alone.”

Her hand settled on his and her eyes bored into him, seeing his deepest thoughts and dreams. By her side, he felt bold, better. He felt  _ whole. _

“While I’m here, you’re not alone.”

“Thank you,” he whispered.

She tapped her legs and invited him to rest his head on her lap. He did. She had been in his life for mere minutes and already he was more comfortable with her than anyone he'd known. She raked her fingers through his hair, long fingernails grazing his scalp and he felt his eyelids become heavy.

He fought his exhaustion, determined to remain alert enough to gaze at her beauty until the firelight died. At some point, he lost the fight and drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. When he awoke to bright sunlight, burning off the mist and chill from the previous night, she was gone.

There was no trace of her, except the sprig of rosemary he now held in his hand, and the tingle on his temple where her kiss lingered.

~~~~~

He didn’t mention Marinette to the others. Not that any of them asked how his night had been. As far as they were concerned, he would have gone to bed not long after them and slept in his tent. Adrien didn’t think they’d believe he’d met a charming young woman in the woods at night,  _ he _ could barely believe it and it happened to him.

All throughout the rest of the day, his thoughts wandered back to her. He wondered if she was one of the sìth, the ones that Fraser had warned against, but he couldn’t reconcile the respectfully fearful tone in Fraser’s voice with the sweet innocence that Marinette exuded.

No one asked why he was so quiet, or why they had to ask him something multiple times before he dialled back into the present. His heart tugged at that, but if he was honest with himself, it was nothing he wasn’t used to. His very name caused people to be on edge, even if they didn’t work for his father. But this group of men did, and so they avoided interaction with him naturally so that nothing negative could be reported against them. Not that Adrien would ever do that. He just wanted to have  _ friends _ . Real life people that cared about his hopes, his dreams, his heart.

When they stopped to collect core samples, Adrien took the opportunity to question Fraser further on what he intimated about sìth the previous night.

“So, uh, are all these ‘wee folk’ bad, then?” He asked, attempting to sound nonchalant.

“Not all of them,” the guide shrugged. “But those ones are fairly harmless. It’s the mischievous and evil ones you want to watch out for.”

“How would you know which ones are bad?”

Fraser’s eyes narrowed. “Do you have something to tell me, sonny-boy?”

He rubbed the back of his neck as his eyes searched the ground for somewhere to hide. He didn’t want to tell anyone about the girl. Marinette had appeared to him and she was his secret.

“No. I was just… wondering.”

_ Would he ever see her again? _

He wanted to press Fraser for more details but knew the man would warn him against involving himself with such a creature.

“Aye, I’ve had kids like you ‘just wondering’ before and I always tell them this. Curiosity killed more than the cat.”

Adrien nodded. He wasn’t sure how else he was meant to respond.

“Look, I can see that this is of interest to you, so here.”

Fraser reached into his pocket and revealed a keychain full of charms, rabbit’s feet, straw figures and wilting herbs. He extracted an old ring and passed it to him. A smooth cabochon of green tourmaline was set into a thick silver band. When he examined it, he noticed how the light reflected in a narrow band across the stone.

“…”  Adrien was speechless at the gift.

“Cat’s eye gems will protect you from evil,” Fraser said.

He slipped the ring onto his finger. “Thank you.”

The others joined them. Nino and Nathaniel were studying rare volcanic layers and were excited to have found some interesting samples. Kim was mapping physical evidence of the Great Glen Fault and wanted to talk to Fraser about something of interest he’d found. So, once again, Adrien was alone.

Before long, they reached the lodge and the group dispersed as Fraser took the horses to the stables and the rest found their rooms and enjoyed their first proper shower in days. Under a steady jet of hot water, Adrien found himself pondering the strange girl once more.

Would she return? He hoped so. But, was it something he should wish for?

He was quiet during dinner, although nobody noticed. Running water and central heating were enough to invoke a new level of joviality in Nino, Kim and Nathaniel and the tall tales and jokes were freely flying around the dining room. Fraser joined them and presented them with a bottle of whisky so, soon, alcohol had added to the levity in the group. Adrien didn’t feel it.

He only felt longing.

“Hey, Fraser! I’ve got a bone to pick with you,” Kim slurred. “You said if we wished for women, we’d get more than we could handle, but we got nothing!”

Adrien shifted uncomfortably in his seat, fiddling with the cat’s eye ring. He felt Fraser’s gaze burning into him and he determinedly refused to look up.

“Aye, well, you should consider yourselves lucky. You can’t outsmart the fae so don’t try.”

Kim puffed out his chest. “Is that a challenge?”

“No!” Nino, Nate and Adrien chimed in unison.

“Really? I  _ wish _ ,” he emphasised the word. “For women. Pretty ones, who like to dance and want to party with us all night.”

In the near distance, Adrien heard wolves howl. Fraser shook his head and drained his whisky glass.

“On that foolish note, I’ll be off. If you need me, I’ll be in the stables.”

Kim’s insouciant laugh followed his departure.

“You shouldn’t upset him, dude. He’s our guide. If you make him mad, he’ll walk us off a cliff tomorrow, or something.”

Nathaniel nodded. “He’s helped us out a lot, we should be nicer to him.”

Kim guffawed and poured more whisky into everybody’s glass. He had barely stoppered the bottle when there was a knock at the door. He jumped up to answer it.

“Fraser probably forgot something,” Adrien called out.

When Kim returned, he was wearing a sheepish look on his face.

“So, guys, it wasn’t Fraser, it was something  _ much _ better.”

He stepped aside as a familiar face entered the room. Marinette had returned! This time, however, she wasn’t alone; she had brought three companions.

All of them wore similar long dresses, each one a different colour. The blonde one, tall and haughty wore mustard yellow, the one with the reddish brown hair with copper highlights was in a deep orange gown. Behind them, following reluctantly, was a smaller girl with pink hair and a black dress. They introduced themselves as Chloé, Alya and Alix.

They all glowed with the same unearthly beauty that Marinette did.

As the new girls followed Nino to the stereo to choose music to dance to, Marinette approached Adrien. She tilted her head curiously at him and ran her index finger from his furrowed brow to the tip of his nose.

“What’s wrong, Adrien?”

“How did you know I was here?” He frowned.

Her smile was warm. “You wished to see me again, didn’t you?”

He nodded.

“And your friend wished for women to dance with, yes?”

“Well, yes, but.”

She sat next to him, her thigh pressed against his.

“That’s how I knew you were here.”

Adrien’s voice dropped to a whisper, almost completely drowned out by the hubbub of drinking and dancing across the room. He leaned in towards her, sure she could hear his heart pounding in his chest.

“ _ What _ are you, Marinette?”

Her hand gripped his and bluebell eyes studied emerald. She bit her lip, contemplating her response. When she answered him, she did so with her face close to his, her breath rippling over his ear.

“I’m Baobhan Sìth.”

“I… I don’t know what that means,” he admitted.

“You’ll find out.”

The track changed and an upbeat song began. Nino and the girl in the orange dress were dancing together. Her hips swayed seductively as he rested his hands on her waist from behind her. She pushed her ass into his groin, moving in time with the music. Nino looked like he couldn't believe his luck. Nathaniel and Alix danced too. It was more reserved than Nino and Alya, shyness inhibiting them both.

Against the farthest wall, Kim and Chloé were making out. He had her pressed into the wood panelling, grinding his hips into her as his tongue explored hers.

“Are your friends going to hurt mine?” He was suddenly compelled to ask.

“I thought they weren’t your friends.” It sounded like a question.

“They… They’re not, but I don’t want any harm to come to them.”

With the lightest caress of her hand under his chin, she tilted his face to meet hers. Her lips met his with softness and care. She kissed him gently, hinting at an underlying desire in the way she hummed her approval as she pulled away.

“Then, trust me,” she insisted.

He did. Trusted her more than he could explain. With his life.

This time, he kissed her. Her hand gripped his sweater, pulling him nearer and the other held the back of his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss, gently sucking her bottom lip between his until she yielded to his tongue. Adrien felt a thrill with every nip of her teeth, every scratch of her nails.

They finally separated, panting. His head spun and mind raced. He didn’t have anything to compare it to, but he knew that was a good kiss.

From the corner of his eye, he caught something jarring. Kim’s hands slid to the girl’s thighs and he hoisted her off the ground. Her skirt lifted at the hem and Adrien’s eyes widened. Where he expected to see feet, instead, there were hooves.

He gasped, looking around wildly for someone else to confirm what he saw. Nobody seemed to notice. Beside him, Marinette squeezed his hand, preventing him from crying out, anchoring him.

Then, he froze in fear as he watched the blonde one, Chloé, grin lasciviously before she slit Kim’s throat with her pointed fingernail. Bright red blood spurted from his neck, spraying the walls and curtains, until she closed her lips around the wound and drank thirstily.

Adrien’s mouth fell open and he tried to scream. Nothing came out. Yet, he couldn’t look away. Adrien was grateful he couldn’t see Kim’s face. His body slumped in Chloé’s arms but she continued to drink until she was sated. She dropped him to the floor, waxen and lifeless. His glassy eyes stared into nothing.

As if taking some unspoken cue, Alix ran her nail down Nathaniel’s carotid, opening the artery wide. This time, Adrien wasn’t spared the fear and shock on his classmate’s face. Nate’s eyes popped and jaw dropped in the moment he realised what was about to happen. Alix’s mouth clamped around the gushing blood. She, too, drank deeply, savouring it as she drained the life from the quiet redhead.

Once more, Adrien made no sound. Paralysed by the scene unfolding before him. He should have run, or called for help. He did neither, he stared, unblinking as a tiny pink-haired woman overpowered Nathaniel and drank his blood.

Marinette shook Adrien out of his stupor and guided him from the room. He followed her blindly. Before they left the dining room, he was aware of Alya slashing Nino’s throat. Already accustomed to the sight of blood squirting from his friends’ necks in jets, Adrien barely flinched when crimson droplets landed on his arm as they passed.

In the hallway, Marinette cupped his face in her hands, eyes searching his face expectantly.

“What… uh… who..?” He found his voice, but the words were still stuck.

“Baobhan Sìth. Vampires, Adrien,” Marinette explained seriously. “We came because you and your friends wished for us. We feed because it’s our nature to do so.”

“Are my friends vampires now?”

She shook her head solemnly. “Only females can become like us. The men, they simply die.”

Blood throbbed in his ears and he tried to ignore the notion that it would soon be gushing from his neck. Fear gripped him, but he didn’t run. He meant it when he said he trusted her and he had to believe that she wouldn’t harm him.

“Why am I still alive?”

She slid her fingers down to his right hand and raised it to show him his ring. The one Fraser said was a charm against evil.

“The cat’s eye gem is protecting you,” Marinette said. “But…”

She paused and chewed her bottom lip. She stroked his cheek with her finger, the look of longing in her eyes unmistakable.

“…even without it, I wouldn’t want to hurt you. I- I- I love you, Adrien.”

“I love you, too, Marinette.”

He didn’t hesitate, he just spoke, because as soon as she said those words, he knew in the deepest part of his soul that he felt the same way. He loved her. She was the missing piece of his heart.

And she was probably going to kill him.

If that was the case, he was going out with a bang.

Their lips smashed together as Adrien claimed her mouth. When her lips touched his, he felt urgency and need. She must have felt it, too, as she grasped handfuls of his sweater and pulled his body into to hers. His arms surrounded her, holding her. He tasted the sweetness of her mouth and breathed in the scent of leaves and fresh air. He needed to feel her skin against his, wished it to be so.

They staggered towards the wall as the kiss deepened—tongues clashing, hands grabbing. He kissed her neck, grazing the skin with his teeth and feathering his tongue over the area. She moaned and gripped his arms. 

“Take me.” She gasped 

She pulled his sweater over his head, breaking their kiss for as little time as possible. He unbuckled his belt and she pushed his pants down unceremoniously. He wanted to feel embarrassed until her hand closed around his cock and she started to stroke him. He forgot everything but that sensation, wanted to feel only that forever.

She ran her leg up his, hooking her knee over his hip and he took the hint, lifting her skirt. She guided him to her entrance and he paused.

Blue eyes locked into his, burning with desire. Sure of what she wanted.

“I need you.” She whispered.

He didn’t have to be told twice. He held her waist and pushed his hips into her, relishing in the wet heat of her core. She moaned as he filled her, the sound alone almost tipping him over the edge. Linking his fingers in hers, he lifted her hands above her head. Holding them against the wall behind her, he thrust into her, slowly at first, his movements becoming stronger and faster as he gained confidence. With every groan and gasp, he fell for her more.

Adrien held her close as he came, his body moving erratically. Just then pleasure rippled through her and every muscle inside her clenched around him. He was so swept up in the moment that he hadn’t noticed the ring fall from a sweaty finger. 

He barely felt the slash of her fingernail.

As the blood spilled from his neck, he felt only relief that it wasn’t painful. There was a catharsis in dying this way, of knowing that his lifeforce would sustain his love for another day. 

In the end, it was like falling asleep.

~~~~~

When he opened his eyes, he was staring into worried bluebell eyes. He blinked slowly, wondering if it had all been a dream. Only the stinging on his neck and the perception of floating told him this was something different.

“You came back to me,” she smiled softly.

“I did. Back from where?”

He took in his surroundings. It was the forest glade, from the first night he met her. The place he fell in love. 

She stroked his hair, “back from the dead, my love.”

The place he would haunt by her side until the end of time.


End file.
